Orthodontic brackets represent a principal component of corrective orthodontic treatments devoted to improving a patient's occlusion. In conventional orthodontic treatments, an orthodontist affixes brackets to the patient's teeth and engages an archwire into a slot of each bracket. The archwire applies corrective pressures that coerce misaligned teeth to move into orthodontically correct positions. Ligatures, such as small elastomeric O-rings or fine metal wires, are employed to retain the archwire within each bracket slot. Alternatively, self-ligating orthodontic brackets have been developed that eliminate the need for ligatures. Instead of using ligatures, self-ligating brackets rely on a movable latch or slide to captivate the archwire within the bracket slot.
Conventional orthodontic brackets are ordinarily formed from stainless steel, which is strong, nonabsorbent, weldable, and relatively easy to form and machine. Patients undergoing orthodontic treatment using metal orthodontic brackets, however, may be embarrassed by the visibility of the metal brackets, which makes treatment obvious even to a casual observer, and, more importantly, is not cosmetically pleasing. To improve the cosmetic appearance, certain orthodontic brackets utilize a bracket body made of a transparent or translucent non-metallic material, such as a polymer resin or a ceramic. The transparent or translucent nature of the bracket may allow the color or shade of the underlying tooth to show through the bracket. For this reason, and as compared to metallic brackets, transparent or translucent brackets are less noticeable and are, therefore, more desirable.
While surpassing metallic brackets aesthetically, ceramic brackets are known to fracture more easily than metal brackets, which are more likely to deform rather than failing catastrophically. Consequently, there is a need for a ceramic bracket that has a greater resistance to tensile and flexural stresses and overcomes other deficiencies of known ceramic brackets.